Audition Prep with Sarah E.

Sarah began her classical training early and is fluent in piano and string instruments. In high school, Sarah first realized she loved teaching when she started a piano instruction program volunteering at the Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation. She has maintained a studio of students of various instruments, ages, experience levels, and abilities for over a decade. Sarah earned her Masters in Music (Viola Performance) at the Arizona State University School of Music in and Bachelors in Music at Stony Brook State University in Long Island, New York. At ASU, she studied with Nancy Buck, served as a teaching assistant for the ASU Viola Studio, and was awarded both Special Talent scholarships and the Richard Burns viola scholarship. At Stony Brook University, she studied with Nicholas Cords (Brooklyn Rider) and Larry Dutton (Emerson String Quartet), performed in the graduate orchestra (the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra), studied musicology at the graduate level, was coached by the Emerson String Quartet and other graduate faculty, and participated in the Emerson Chamber Music Festival three years in a row. She was also honored to receive the Michael Bane Award in 2012 and perform alongside Emerson String Quartet violinist Phil Setzer in December 2014. From fall 2014 to spring 2015, she studied privately in Karen Ritscher's viola studio in Manhattan, New York. Sarah has also attended a number of summer festivals, including: Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute (Tanglewood, MA; 2009; with scholarship), Round Top International Music Festival (Round Top, TX; 2012, 2013, 2014; full fellowships; performances with faculty); Ameropa Music Festival (Prague, Czech Republic; 2015; performances with faculty); Saarburg Music Festival (Saarburg, Germany; 2016; guest artist). Sarah’s greatest goal as a music teacher is for her students to love music as much as she does.